There are Voices in my Head
by nalunatics
Summary: "According to 'ye olde tale o' love', you and your soulmate can communicate with each other via your minds. Natsu thought it was a crock of shit that people make up to make themselves feel better about not having found love, but he digressed." Soulmate AU where you can communicate via your thoughts. Nalu.


" _Shouldn't you be at work by now?_ " A soft voice snaps Natsu head up and he looks around wildly. He had dozed off in bed for a few moments; he had had a long day, he was only going to close his eyes for a few moments, but that turned into something like a few hours.

"Shit." Natsu mumbled as he stumbled around his room attempting to fine a semi clean button up shirt and his black slacks. He was a bartender at a little, well, not so little since more and more people heard news of it, but a 'little' bar in downtown Magnolia.

" _How do you know I'm not at work yet? Weirdo._ " Natsu thought half angrily, half amusedly back at the voice. The voice was none other than his 'soulmate', or so he's been told. Of course, this happens to everyone; so, everyone says. He thinks is a crock of shit that people make up to make themselves feel better about not having found love, but he digressed. According to 'ye olde tale o' love', you and your soulmate can communicate with each other via your minds. After you turn eighteen, you should be able to hear each other's voice; it caused a _lot_ of heartbreak when Natsu was in high school and couples had been together for years only to find out, when one of them turned eighteen, that it wasn't the other's voice that they were hearing.

Natsu had never been in a relationship and he didn't really care whether he was in one either. Sure, the thought of being with someone for life and having the whole 'soulmate' thing was sweet, but he just didn't believe it to be real. That _could_ be because when _he_ turned eighteen his head was empty and clear of otherworldly voices. At the time, his mother had reassured him that it was probably because whoever his soulmate was wasn't eighteen yet, but as the years passed, he came to a belief that what people were saying was coming straight out of their asses. That being said, by the time he turned twenty, he began to pick up the faintest inkling of a voice lurking deep within his brain that slowly got louder. Natsu figured he was going crazy and probably worrying too much about the voice appearing, and he was, in fact, going clinically insane.

" _Just a guess. You're always late anyways._ " The voice quipped in response and Natsu frowned. His mind sure wanted to piss him off.

" _Yeah, well, I was right on time actually. I'm on my way there now._ " Natsu lied as he slipped on a pant leg, while trying to put them on, and crashed onto his hardwood floor.

"Son of a bitch!" Natsu growled, his cat, Happy, looking up at him curiously twitching his whiskers.

" _Don't lie, Natsu. I know you were asleep._ " Natsu could almost hear the smugness in her voice and Natsu gritted his teeth.

" _That's only because you're all in my head. Like some parasite._ "

" _That is so rude!_ " She whined and Natsu chuckled, shoving his phone, wallet, and keys in his pants pocket, and headed out the door.

" _I'm going now, quit freakin', Looney._ " Natsu sighed inwardly and set a fast pace out his apartment and down the street. Luckily, the bar he worked at was just around the corner from his building; he was only going to be five, maybe ten minutes late tops.

" _The name's Lucy, got it?!_ " The voice retorted angrily in the back of his mind and Natsu smirked. He knew ' _her_ ' name, but he just liked to mess with her. Sure, he called _her_ 'her', but apparently his mind was very creative. His brain had concocted Lucy, she was his age, a blonde, a writer, and apparently came from a wealthy family, but she didn't like to talk about it much. Natsu had, admittedly, had long talks with her about her dad and her mother's death. He liked messing with Lucy, but he always took her troubles seriously and did the best that he could to console her when she needed it. This was the closest he'd been to being in a relationship, and it was with his own delusional subconscious. Nice.

"Is Gray right? Do I need to get laid?" Natsu shook his head and glared at the concrete beneath his shoes. "What the hell am I thinking? Gray's a dick." Natsu mumbled to himself. He finally made it to an old but grand looking building with the large letters spelling out _Fairy Tail_ above the door. He shoved open the entrance and pulsing music slapped him in the face like a wave.

" _Great, Erza must have control of the music tonight._ " Natsu thought absently as he elbowed his way through sweaty bodies to the bar. He worked the nightshift, six at night to two in the morning. He preferred it that way, he'd rather his days be free to do, well, videos games, eating, and working out when he wasn't sleeping.

" _Oh, Erza's there tonight? I'd love to meet her!_ " Lucy's voice chimed in having heard Natsu's inner thoughts.

" _Trust me, you don't wanna meet her_." Natsu groaned silently back and he could almost, just almost, picture her pouting at him.

" _I do! Please, please, please tell me the name of where you work!_ " Lucy begged and Natsu just continued to walk forward; almost at the bar. He hadn't revealed much about his personal life to 'Lucy'. That was mainly, no, that was _all_ due to the fact that he figured he truly _was_ going insane. His mind was against him, he knew it. Why should he have to disclose information to his brain if it was something it should already know? He was nuts, utterly and completely insane, and Gray would call him a little bitch if he found out.

"Nice of you to show up, asshole." Gray frowned as Natsu as he trudged behind the counter.

"Sup." Natsu greeted the dark-haired bartender, and his roommate, Gray Fullbuster. "I'm only a couple minutes late, don't sweat it." Natsu grinned over at him and Gray rolled his eyes. Natsu caught sight of Erza as the D.J. for the night, big headphones over her scarlet hair and everything. _Fairy Tail_ was owned by a mostly grumpy Russian man named Makarov; that being said, he treated his staff like family, and if anyone fucked with them, he didn't hesitate to throw them out. The place had a reputation of being rough, but also being one of the best and most fun bars in all of Magnolia. Sure, it was rowdy as hell, but with Cana as the head bartender and some great music, it was the top of the line. That's why it had grown so much, people loved the atmosphere.

Natsu got right to it, served a few people their drinks, ignored the fact that Cana was drinking on the job, ignored Gray's side comments, and ignored Lucy's prying questions about the nightshift. After an hour or so, there was a slight break as Erza turned on the techno and people went crazy running to the dancefloor.

"Tch." Gajeel, one of their bouncers, snubbed his nose at the crowd in disgust as they gyrated to the music.

"You're just jealous." Erza smirked as she walked over to the group of boys and Gajeel rolled his eyes in response.

"Yeah, I'll pass."

"I thought Jellal was tonight?" Natsu mused.

"Yes, he's here. He's actually helping Mira with the food; we're a little short-staffed tonight, Kinana called out. I guess Erik isn't feeling well and she's going to take care of him." Erza informed them. "So, I decided to take a turn with the music for the night." Erza's eyes lit up deviously.

" _Well, I'm going out with my friends tonight._ " Lucy's voice popped back into Natsu's mind and brought his attention to her.

" _Okay… Have fun._ " Natsu replied absently and Lucy huffed in response.

" _You know, if you're the person I'm supposed to get married to and live the rest of my life with, you could take more interest in what I'm doing!_ " Lucy scolded him and Natsu actually felt bad. Felt bad for his crazy subconscious' voice.

" _Sorry. I mean it thought, have fun, be safe and all. I can talk to you when you get back, I'll be here all night._ " Natsu assured her and bid her a goodnight. He idly wondered where Lucy was or who she was with or where she was headed. He honestly wished that she was real.

"Earth to Natsu, hello! Get with the program, man." Gray derided and Natsu's gaze snapped up to Gray's face. He was leaning on the bar and apparently had completely missed the conversation that his three friends were having.

"What is with you? Are you ill? You seem to be so distracted lately." Erza frowned at him in concern and Natsu waved it off.

"I'm fine, just spacing out."

"I think Juvia said she was going to stop by tonight. Said she was coming with Levy." Gray waggled his eyebrows at Gajeel who attempted to ignore the jibing but a blush gave him away. The brute of a bouncer had a soft spot for their little blue haired friend, Levy McGarden. "I think she said that they were bringing someone with them to meet everyone. I guess whoever it is just moved to Magnolia and she's on her own. Lev met her at the library and they hit it off." Gray continued and Erza smiled.

"Well, I can't wait to meet this mystery lady. It will be nice to have another friendly face." Erza clasped her hands together excitedly.

"How'dya know she's not gonna be a total jerk?" Gajeel remarked and Erza scowled and folded her arms. Natsu drifted away from the conversation and took care of a couple girls who clinked their glasses down on the bar top and wanted a refill. They batted their eyelashes at him, he gave them his signature grin; they expected to get a couple free drinks, from the looks of it, he still charged them full price. Natsu was used to girls flirting with him, he knew that he was fairly attractive, or so Erza and some other's informed him. However, it's not like he paid much mind to the girls that pushed their breasts together to the point of bursting out of their shirt, pouted their lips, and smiled with glossed lips at him. There wasn't that spark that he was told about… The voice in his head didn't go away no matter how many women he met. According to what his mother had told him, once he meets his soulmate, their voice will cease from his mind, and vice versa. That's another reason why Natsu didn't believe the garbage everyone was spewing, Lucy's voice never went away, and at twenty-four, he figured all hope was lost. Though he wouldn't break his mother's heart with that bit of doubt, she wanted her 'damn grandchildren already!' even though he continuously reminded her that his older brother, Zeref, and his wife, Mavis, already had two kids.

" _Levy, where are we going?_ " Natsu's ears picked up on a singular voice in the crowd. It startled him, it was too loud and too much in his ears.

"What the…" Natsu muttered and Gray gave him a weird, side-eyed look. Natsu brushed it off and continued wiping down the bar after picking up a few empty glasses.

"Natsu, can you get these guys a couple beers?" Cana called as she expertly mixed some fruity drinks for a brunette and her friend, turned, and placed the drinks down while winking at the girls.

"Yeah." Natsu responded; Cana had more game with women than he did. He passed two beers onto the guys that Cana directed him to, and busied himself helping Gray with a rush at the other end of the bar.

" _Whoa! What is this place? It sounds loud!_ " There the voice was again; it startled him again, it was _too_ loud. The glass that he was carrying shattered on the floor gaining him a few curious glances from patrons around the bar.

"Natsu! You've been spaced out all night, it's too busy to have you not focused!" Cana chided and Natsu looked up at the older girl apologetically.

"Sorry, I just thought I heard something…" Cana's gaze softened a bit and turned her attention to the drinks she was mixing.

"It's fine, I just want to make sure you're okay. Just clean that up and let's get rolling again!" Cana smiled over her shoulder down at him as he swept up the glass.

"Dumbass." Gray snickered and Natsu glared up at him, refraining from whipping the glass shards at his head.

"Wow, this place is amazing!"

"I know, right? I totally told you it was cool!" Levy's voiced hit Natsu's ears, but that's not what seemingly floored him.

"Hey, Lev." Gajeel, as happy as his grumpy friend could muster, greeted her through the crowd. Natsu still couldn't see her, but he was sure of it, he was sure he heard her.

"Gajeel!" Levy called happily; Natsu saw the top of Levy's head, her blue hair standing out in the crowd. "This is my friend…" Natsu didn't hear the rest of Levy's sentence, her voice was drowned out by Juvia coming up the bar and greet Gray warmly.

"Gray-sama, Juvia has come to see you." She practically sang and Natsu huffed, shouldering past Gray. He needed to get closer to Levy.

"I-it's nice to meet you. Levy's told me a lot about you!" The voice responded again and Natsu burst through the low swing door out from behind the bar.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" Gray called in confusion; he sounded pissed off, but Natsu was too preoccupied.

"Oh, here's someone else I wanted you to meet!" Levy turned her attention to Natsu was practically stumbling over to them. He knew he had caught a few strange looks, but he didn't care. There, standing next to Levy, was a girl, a little taller, blonde hair tied up in a side ponytail, a short red dress on, and warm brown eyes. His breath caught in his throat, the sight almost overthrew him. The first thing he could think of doing was to think. He thought furiously at Lucy, almost _pleading_ with her to answer him. The girl in front of him looked just as shocked, pouty lips hung slightly open, eyes wide and taking him in.

"Lucy…?" Natsu finally breathed out, a sweat breaking out across his forehead.

"O-oh, you've already met? But how?" Levy questioned confusedly, but Lucy wandered cautiously up to him.

"The voice…" She began and Natsu swallowed hard.

"…I-it's gone." Natsu finished, everything had become all too real. "I thought you were all in my head."

"I was." Lucy half giggled, half whispered back at him, and he broke into a quiet, almost hysterical laugh. "I know where you work now." Lucy teased and Natsu's face broke into a wide smile.

"You're real." Natsu choked out. Her voice was gone, but he felt whole. Lucy's voice was gone, but his soul sang loudly in tune with hers.


End file.
